Whovember!!

Readers, the few that I have, by now you must know that I am a HUGE fan of Doctor Who (yes, really).  I discovered the show last April--through a process that looked something like this:

Me: Hmm, a friend of mine is always posting about this show on Facebook--maybe I should check it out...

Me, after watching first episode with 9th Doctor: Hmm, well that was REEEEAAAAALLLLY cheesy, not sure if I want to keep watching, though it kinda reminds me of Star Trek: TOS, which I love. I've got nothing better to do, maybe I'll watch another episode.

Me, later that night: THIS SHOW IS THE MOST AWESOMEST THING EVER!! OMG!! LOVE!!

And the show proceeded to take over my life, to the point now, where I have a TARDIS phone case, a TARDIS bathrobe, my boss gave me a Doctor Who card for my birthday, and a coworker 3D printed a Dalek for me.  All of which makes me insanely happy. :-D

I became a fan of the show, just in time for it to celebrate it's 50th anniversary this year, and to go to Comic-Con, where I managed to get into Hall H to see it's anniversary panel.  Yes, this whovian got to be in the same room as Matt Smith--twice! (Be still, my heart).

So, in celebration of Doctor Who, and the fact that it's airing it's 50th anniversary episode this month, I am renaming November to Whovember, and plan to post every week about my favorite show.

And there was much rejoicing.

For my first Whovian post this month, I thought I'd discuss the main character himself: The Doctor.  Now, I still haven't seen any Classic Who--as I've only just finally caught up with all the episodes of New Who.  So, because of this, this post will only focus on the New Who Doctors--9, 10, and 11.

The Doctor is what drew me into the show, and he is the reason I keep watching.  He is such a compelling main character, and the possibilities of stories you can tell with him are literally endless.  He's an alien who never dies, just regenerates, and can travel through all of time and space.  It's a gold mine of stories.

So let's begin with where it all began for me: The 9th Doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston.

You can't travel through time? How sad.  I can. Like a boss.

There is a saying among Whovians, "You never forget your first Doctor."  For me, my first Doctor was 9. The ninth incantation of the Doctor was, a lot of the time, angry and bitter.  It is assumed that he regenerated out of the Time War, in which his species was destroyed, so it's understandable that he's carrying quite a lot of emotional scars from those events. He's also the only Doctor so far to dress in modern, normal street clothing, with his black leather jacket, as well as also being notable as the only Doctor without crazy/ridiculous hair.

Seriously, just look at the hair.

The 9th Doctor meets some of New Who's most popular companions, Rose, and Jack Harkness (who was so popular, he got a spin-off called Torchwood, which was actually my first exposure at all to the Whovian universe.)  Over the course of the Ninth's single season, we get to watch as Rose gradually helps him process and deal with his anger.  This is primarily the focus of the excellent episode, "Dalek," in which the Doctor comes face to face with his old enemy, and we get a glimpse of how deeply his is scarred by his experiences from the war.

Do you feel lucky punk? Do ya?

As angry and hurt the Ninth Doctor is though, he usually hides it behind a cheerful smile, in what really becomes the norm for the New Who Doctors.  He walks around with a casual and flippant air, cracks hilarious jokes, and has a wide, beaming smile.  His interactions with Rose and the various situations he finds himself in, often lead to genuinely funny moments, which a lot people I think, myself included, tend to forget about.

The Ninth Doctor is one of the most underrated Doctor in my opinion.  His single season is full of solid and excellent episodes, introduces, as I said, two of the most popular companions in the history of the show, and Christopher Eccleston also had the job of reintroducing the Doctor to an entire new generation of fans. Without Nine, there would be any New Who for us to enjoy at all, and for that, Nine will always have a spot in my heart.

Plus, check out his crazy awesome dance moves.

Now, we come to my favorite doctor, The 10th Doctor, played by the excellent David Tennant.  The Tenth Doctor remains one of the most popular Doctors of all time, and it has everything to do with how excellently David Tennant captured the character.  He took the foundations that Eccleston started, and built upon them, bringing us a bit more of the Doctor's back-story in the war, and conveying the highs and the heartbreaking lows of the Doctor's emotions, often within the same scene.

With the Tenth Doctor we also got to see a bit more of the romantic side of him.  His relationship with Rose develops into one of the most popular pairings in the history of the show, if not the most popular couple in the history of British television.

The Doctor: Rose, guess what I got you for Christmas?
Rose: A cute pair of shoes?
The Doctor: No.  I got you ALL OF TIME AND SPACE!
Rose: Best boyfriend ever!

His relationship with Rose would last for the whole of David Tennant's first season, during which we get to see a lighter, happier side of the Doctor, until (spoilers) he and Rose are separated in the season finale.  This caused fan-girls everywhere to have breakdowns and curse the universe for its cruelty.

After his separation from Rose, we see the Doctor revert back to a more distant, angry personality.  He's learned his lesson about love, and he's decided that it's not for him.  It's therefore painful to see him interact with his next companion, Martha Jones, who quite obviously loves him.  But the Doctor doesn't return her feelings.  Martha gets a lot of flak, I think, simply for being the replacement companion after Rose, and also for falling in love with the Doctor, but honestly, can you blame her?  Maybe it's because I didn't start watching the show until it was well into Matt Smith's run, but Martha never bothered me.  In fact, some of my favorite episodes fall under her time as a companion.  

The Doctor and Martha, hanging out with Shakespeare, quoting Harry Potter.
The English Lit major inside of me just died of a happiness overload.

Also with the Tenth Doctor, we get my favorite companion of all of New Who--Donna Noble.  Her and Ten's relationship is just hysterically awesome.  They're best friends, and I think Donna, more than Martha, really helps Ten move on from Rose's loss. 

You just know they're up to something.

Though at the same time, Donna reveals the cracks in his cheerful facade more than any other companion on the show, and it is her departure, (spoilers) with no memories of the Doctor that truly sends the Doctor into a downward spiral that ultimately culminates in him breaking down and going temporarily insane with the power of time.

I DEMAND A COOKIE AS WELL!!

The Tenth Doctor had it all--happy, heartbroken, angry, good, evil, funny, clever.  It's no wonder he remains so popular to this day.

But of course, eventually, he regenerates into The 11th Doctor played by Matt Smith.  Matt Smith had the insanely difficult job of playing the Doctor after one of the most popular Doctors of all time, but fortunately for the fans, he not only lived up to David Tennant's legacy, he carved one out for himself, also becoming a fan favorite.

Hello, I'm the Doctor.  Check out my crazy awesome hair.

The Eleventh Doctor is often thought of as one of the more 'alien' Doctor's, in that he doesn't conform to normal human behavior.  I really like that about him, as it often leads to hilarious scenes with him interacting with his bemused companions.  The Eleventh Doctor is also the youngest body he has yet to inhabit, which gives him the feel of a childlike personality at times.  But as we spend more time with him on the show, we quickly come to realize that the childlike persona is just a mask, and it covers the spirit of an old, broken man, who's lived through too many horrors.

What do you mean, you don't like my hair?

What I really enjoy about the Eleventh Doctor is how well the stories play around with the idea of interacting with a time-traveler.  For example, his companions meet a past version of himself, just after interacting with a future version, and the scene is played brilliantly, with the younger Doctor being confused and angry when he senses his companions are keeping information from him.

What I don't like about the Eleventh Doctor is that the story-lines turn him and the TARDIS into the two most important things in the Universe.  Like, when the TARDIS explodes, it has the power to destroy all of creation. Or everyone is obsessed with the Doctor's name, because it's supposedly, all powerful or something.  I don't know.  I found those story arcs very annoying and frustrating, and it's because of them that I can't quite love the Eleventh Doctor's run as I did with the Ninth, and the Tenth.  Don't get me wrong, I love Matt's portrayal of the Eleventh Doctor, and there are some episodes of his that I LOVE, for example, "The Doctor's Wife," but overall, I was really disappointed by the story arcs.

The Eleventh Doctor though, is still wonderfully entertaining.  Matt Smith is hilarious, and his Doctor is a combination of clumsiness, awkward limbs, and hilarious expressions.  He describes himself in the show as 'A madman with a box' and he truly does act like a madman.  He comes  across as an alien, and I do love Amy and Rory as his companions who have to put up with his bizarre behavior and interference in their lives.

"Cut my hair? That's just nonsense" 

It took me a while to get used to the new TARDIS design, but it grows on you.  We've yet to see this Doctor regenerate, but while part of me dreads to see the Eleventh go, the other part of me is super excited to see what the new Doctor will bring to the story.

Well, his hair won't be as awesome as mine, that's for sure.

Fun Fact of the Day: The Tardis prop used for the first series with Christopher Eccleston was put up for auction by Bonhams of London in 2010 and sold for £10,800, or around 17,200 US dollars.  But to be fair, you just bought all of time and space...

TTFN! Ta Ta For Now!

This is Halloween

October is already halfway over, and each day brings us closer to Halloween (*cough, Candy Day, cough cough*).  To celebrate the upcoming holiday, for this post I'm going to talk about some favorite Halloween moments from television.  Halloween was always one of my favorite holiday's as a kid--I loved choosing a new costume every year, and carving pumpkins.  It was fun to go out after dark with some friends and Trick or Treat.  And on television, holidays often get their own special episodes.  : )

Yes, I carved the witch, my roommate carved the skull.

One of my favorite Halloween moments isn't from a traditional Halloween episode, per say, but it is from one of my favorite shows, involving one of my favorite comedians.  I'm talking about The Daily Show, and Stephen Colbert.  During a recurring debate segment called "Even Stevphen" Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell argue the merits of Halloween and trick-or-treating.  It's one of the funniest debates they engage in, and it still makes me laugh every time I watch it. Even Stevphen Halloween.

A great show for Halloween episodes is Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  For a show about hunting vampires and demons, Halloween fit in perfectly with the overall atmosphere.  One of my favorite episodes is in season 2 when the Scooby Gang are taking groups of kids trick-or-treating, and due to a spell, the residents of Sunnydale become their Halloween costumes.  This leads to hilarious hijinks as Buffy becomes a swooning princess, Xander a combat solider, and my personal favorite, Willow becomes a ghost hooker. 

Who you gonna call?

The episode is hilarious and fun, and introduces one of the more interesting supporting characters in the Buffyverse, Ethan Rayne.  It's appropriately titled, "Halloween," and if you have a free hour I'd definitely recommend you give it a watch.

Another fun Halloween episode is found on the show Castle.  In season two we get the episode "Vampire Weekend," and it's still one of my favorite episodes from all 6 seasons of the show.  How can you not love it, when you have a Firefly reference in the first scene? 

 

And it just keeps getting better from there.  From the case of the week, a guy staked through the heart in a cemetery, to Ryan and Esposito bantering in the graveyard, to this:

It's Castle at its best and most entertaining. :) 

If you're more into the horror side of Halloween there's always Supernatural.  In the episode "It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester," it opens with a gruesome scene involving razor blades that will make you think twice before eating your next piece of candy, and it doesn't stop there.  I liked how the episode gave an explanation for why people wear masks on Halloween, and of course, it maintains its sense of humor with scenes like Dean and the little kid trick-or-treating.

We also get to see Sam and Castiel meet for the first time, and any episode with Castiel in it, is automatically 100x more awesome.

So there you have it--just a short post today on some great Halloween episodes from television. Moving into November, I'm going to be talking about Doctor Who, in celebration of it's 50th anniversary! Can't wait. 

Fun Fact: Halloween is the second highest grossing commercial holiday after Christmas.  Probably because of all the CANDY!!! ARGH, MUNCHMUNCHMUNCH!

Happy Halloween everyone! TTFN! Ta Ta For Now. :)  

BOO! AAAAHHHH!!!

Wow, I cannot believe it is already October!  Summer is officially over in Oregon, and my apartment is freezing cold every morning because I'm too cheap to turn on my heat.  It's yet another example of how I'm slowly turning into my mother (I said it would never happen, but it is!).

Since October plays host to one of my favorite holidays as a kid, Candy Day (aka Halloween), my next couple of blog posts are going to focus on bringing out that holiday spirit of dressing up in costumes and scaring the crap out of people.  So much fun, I know!

To kick off the first blog post of the month, today, I thought it would be fun to talk about 5 of the scariest episodes of TV that I've ever seen.  Now, usually, I hate (read, REALLY, REALLY HATE) horror and scary shows, but then a funny thing happened two years ago, I got hooked on this show called Supernatural.  And it's an awesome show--it was at that point, the most graphic horror show I had ever watched.  My love for Supernatural, gradually led to a tolerance for other shows, like The Walking Dead.  And as I watched these shows, I realized, it's fun to be scared sometimes.  (In a safe environment, like that fun scared  you feel when you're at the top of the roller coaster and realize that it's a lot higher than it looked like from the ground.)

I'm gonna die!

Of course, I don't watch a lot of horror television, so I'm sure to leave some truly terrifying episodes out of my list, but I guarantee, the ones I have listed here, are pants-wetting terrifyingly good.

So, onto the list of 5 Truly So Scary It Will Keep You Up At Night Episodes of Television. These are presented in no particular order.  If you have some scary episodes not mentioned on the list, I'd love to hear about which ones you found frightening in the comments. :)

#5: Detour

Show: The X-Files

Ah, the X-Files--this is arguably the show that really opened the doorway for horror on television, and after watching an episode like "Detour" it's easy to see why.  This is the first episode of television that I remember honestly scaring the bejeesus out of me.  A word of advice to anyone reading this: when you're a senior in college, and your roommate is out of town for the weekend, and you're thinking to yourself that you want to enjoy a night in for a change, remember this important fact: DON'T WATCH THE X-FILES BY YOURSELF IN YOUR APARTMENT AT NIGHT.  (Seriously, can't stress that enough.)  I learned my lesson that night.  Because I stupidly watched "Detour" and then honestly had to sleep with the hall light on and my door open, clutching a security stuffed animal.  I'm even getting shivers right now, just thinking about that night.

The plot: Mulder and Scully are on their way to a conference when they get sidetracked by something weird in the woods.  Turns out this weird thing is a monster that can blend in with it's surroundings, effectively turning it invisible, except for it's freaky, red, glowing eyes.  In Beowulf, we never get a description of the monster because what a person's imagination can come up with is usually WAY scarier than any description can be--and this episode capitalizes on that concept.  This monster, called the 'Mothman,' managed to sneak inside a house in the episode, blending itself in with the walls--the family inside oblivious to its presence until it's almost too late.  But for me, the scariest scene, is when Scully and an injured Mulder spend the night in the woods.  Nothing even happens, but the idea that they're out in the woods, at night, practically defenseless, and the fact that invisible monsters could be sneaking up on them...

"Did you hear that?" "Relax, it's probably just Bambi."

#4: Everybody Loves a Clown & The Kids are Alright

Show: Supernatural

I couldn't decide between these two episodes, which one freaked me out the most, so I'm cheating and including both. "Everybody Loves a Clown" is terrifying, because, duh, clowns.  Now, I'm not a person who is usually freaked out by clowns, but after watching this episode I gained a healthy appreciation for why some people find them scary as hell.  In this episode, a clown follows kids home, tricks them into letting him inside, and then he murders their parents.

It'll be fun!

We are treated to shots of the clown, standing on the child's lawn, waving up at them, with an unbelievably creepy smile.  Cue therapist please.

In "The Kids are Alright," we have this: 

Have fun trying to sleep tonight.

And I feel like that's all I really need to say on that.

#3: Blink

Show: Doctor Who

This is the episode that introduced us to the Weeping Angels, and oh god, is it terrifying.  What is especially well done is how the show takes an everyday item, in this case, a statue, and makes it so freaky and scary. I laid in bed later that night thinking to myself, 'Don't turn around, don't turn around,' because I knew if I did, I would see a Weeping Angel sneaking up on me.  And then I would die of fear.

Doctor Who is a family show, but it can be absolutely frightening at times.  In "Blink" the story revolves around Sally Sparrow, who is caught up in a time-traveling mystery whilst being unknowingly hunted by the Weeping Angels.  This leads us to the scariest scene where she and a friend are watching a video explaining things, and they realize that they haven't been watching the statues.  Not so scary, you say?  Well, then, I shall provide a link to the scene so you can watch it yourself:  Click on this. I dare you. 

The Weeping Angels are considered one of the scariest monsters in Doctor Who for good reason, once again playing on our fears of the unknown, unseen monster. 

This is right behind you.

#2: Squeeze

Show: The X-Files

Another X-Files episode.  This show was a master at creating a dark, spooky atmosphere, and "Squeeze" introduces us to one of the show's scariest monsters--Eugene Tooms.  What made this episode particularly scary was the music they played whenever Tooms was sneaking up on someone.  That and the fact that he could contort his body to fit through small spaces, and the ending scene where he's in Scully's house is an edge of your seat watching experience.  

I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!

"Squeeze" was the first ever monster-of-the-week episode for The X-Files and after watching it, it's clear to see why they brought Tooms back in another episode later on.  He remains one of the scariest monsters from the show, and one of the scariest on all of television period.

#1: Hush

Show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

If you Google anything like "Scariest Episodes of Television of All Time," you will find "Hush" appearing on every single list.  "Hush" is considered one of the best episodes of Buffy and it's definitely the most frightening.  The concept: A group of monsters called 'The Gentlemen' steal everyone's voices in town, then they prowl around at night, floating in the air, with their straitjacket clad minions, and rip out hearts from various people.  It is freaky, and scary as hell.

Sleeping is overrated, anyways.

One of the things about this episode that freaks me out the most is well, actually, everything.  From The Gentlemen's super creepy smiles, to the fact that almost the entire episode is dialogue free--which is unbelievably effective at building up tension--to the jump shock scares of the usual opening a door or peeking out a window and seeing the monster--this is the most terrifying episode of Buffy. Now seriously, where did I stash my security blanket?!

Since this post has been filled with images and descriptions of the freaky and creepy kind, I thought I'd post at the end, a non terrifying picture, for comforting purposes. 

AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Whoops! Wrong picture.  Here we go:

SO FLUFFY!!

Fun Fact of the Day: The Gentlemen were featured as monsters in a maze, in Universal Studios Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights in 2005 and 2008.  One day, I seriously need to go to Universal Studios. :)  

TTFN! Ta Ta For Now!

Sleepy Hollow Pilot Viewing

Ah, good day fellow casual geeks!  I hope everyone has been enjoying the weekend--here in the Pacific Northwest we are having my favorite kind of weather--rain!  I love dark storm-clouds and torrential downpours, (when I don't have to be outside in them). It's the kind of dreary weather that makes you want to stay inside, with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book.  Or in today's case, hopefully, a good tv show. Rain like we're having this weekend has officially marked the beginning of autumn, and I thought it would be fun to kick off the start of the season with a post about Sleepy Hollow--a story I think many of us associate with this time of year and for me especially, Halloween (OOOoooooOOOOoooo). (And since all the grocery stores have already started putting out their Halloween stuff, I thought I might as well follow their example, since, you know, it's not even October yet.  Does anyone honestly ever buy Halloween candy this early and expect it to last until the end of October?)

Resistance is futile.

I saw a preview for Sleepy Hollow, and thought it looked kind of interesting--so I asked my mother to DVR it at her house for me, since I don't have cable.  (Not to fear, I have Netflix, and Hulu plus and between those, I find paying 30 bucks a month for cable a bit ridiculous.  If there's something I really want to watch, I ask my mom to record it for me, and I come over and watch it later.  GENIUS I SAY!!) (Also, mom's are the best.)

Now, I am only slightly ashamed to admit this, but I have never read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. (I was an English major.  In my defense, I read A LOT of books.  Including short horror stories, just not this one.)  I have also never seen the Disney animated version, (for that I have no excuse.  *slaps self in face* ) so my understanding of the story is basically this: a timid guy gets chased by a headless horseman and I want to say, dies?

I thought before I watched the pilot of this show, I would get a bit more background on the story than my basic impression, so I went to that ironclad website of facts and absolute reliability: Wikipedia.

According to their plot summary: Ichabod Crane is competing with another man for the hand of the daughter of a wealthy farmer.  One night he attends a harvest festival at the farmer's house, with the intention of proposing to the daughter, but he is refused.  On the way home, he spots a rider and is horrified to discover the rider's head is attached to the saddle (okay, I confess, I just got goosebumps).  The rider chases him for a while, and it ends with, and I quote, "The ghoul...rears his horse, and hurls his decapitated head into Ichabod's terrified face" (oh yeah, that just screams Disney movie to me).

 (Disney: "Well, we've terrified the bejeesus out of kids before; the evil queen in Snow White anyone?  Basically, ALL of Pinocchio? Frigging FANTASIA? The headless horseman is looking a bit tame now, in comparison, isn't he?" Me: "Okay, Disney.  Fair point.")

She ate the horseman's head for breakfast.

Well, now Fox has decided that they're going to do a television show.  From the trailer that I saw, my impression is that it's a cop show, with Ichabod Crane as somehow being transported to modern day New York (?) where he partners up with a female cop.  (10 bucks says that they're going to get together at some point in the show.)  Let's see how my impression lives up to reality.  I've got an assorted bag of chocolate: Hershey's Kisses, Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and Rolos.  Yum! I'll pause for a moment so you can grab a snack...... celery and hummus?  Don't try to guilt me out of my chocolate because it won't work, veggie person.

Beware:  there will be massive spoilers for the pilot of Sleepy Hollow below. If you haven't watched it yet, and don't want to be spoiled, stop reading. :)

11:29am: I turn on the television, and pull up Sleepy Hollow in the DVR recordings.  I'm really hoping this show is as cool as the preview for it looked.  I hit play.

11:30am: I'm watching the last 30 seconds of Bones before my show starts.  Booth and Brennan are kissing! Awww...

11:30am: Viewer Discretion is Advised for Sleepy Hollow.  Oooohhh, this is gonna be good.  I can tell.

11:34am: We open on a scene of a battle--I'm guessing the Revolutionary War here.  A rather attractive man is firing a pistol from behind a tree.  Another man on a horse with a freaky face guard attacks him.  They fight.  Attractive man is injured.  There is a weird mark on horseman's hand.  Attractive man cuts off horseman's head.  Could this be the headless horseman? Signs point to yes.  Also, I'm thinking already that this is a loose adaptation of the story.

11:40am: Attractive man passed out.  Black screen, with jumbled voices.  Shots of jars and some sort of underground room--and attractive man rising from his grave.  It looks like some sort of spell has brought him back from the dead.  I don't think he's a zombie though. Darn.  Not really attractive anymore either.  But don't worry, I'm sure that will be temporary.

11:41am: Wow, make that super temporary.

11:42am: Attractive man encounters a road.  Oooooo, he is confused.  What magic is this?  He almost gets hit by a truck!  AAAHHHH!!

11:43am: The camera pulls out and we see that he is in...wait for it...Village of Sleepy Hollow!  *gasp*  Is this attractive man Ichabod Crane?  I think so.  So, definitely taking liberties with the character then, but they're playing Guns & Roses on the soundtrack so I honestly don't care.  If the soundtrack continues to be this awesome, I might watch the show for that alone.

Also, I'm not sure that villages have populations of 144,000.  Is it really a village then?

11:45am: We move to two cops in a diner.  Hey, at least they're not eating donuts.  One is an older white man, with a beard and kinda of a scruffy voice.  I'm calling him Gandalf for now.  The other is a young, black lady--probably Ichabod's love interest, since we know, by the laws of television, the attractive, beautiful people end up together.

11:50am: Seems like our female lead is thinking of heading to the FBI.  YOU GO GIRL!! Gandalf doesn't want her to leave.  Apparently, neither does the creepy looking preacher sitting behind her.  My spidey senses tell me that he's a bad guy.

11:51am: I really like the night shots of the 'village' and a bridge.  Very cool. I like the atmosphere of this show already.

11:56am:  Our two cops are investing a call they got from a farmhouse.  It is dark, there is lightning flashing.  There is ominous music playing.  It is horror movie cliche city. They have also split up.  So, obviously, they don't watch horror movies.  Oh man, it is not looking good for Gandalf.

11:59am: is the time of death for Gandalf.  Called it.  I'm eating a Reese's peanut butter cup in his memory. The Headless Horseman rides off into the night while the black lady cop, whose name I think is Ivy? calls for backup.  She has a WTF expression on her face as she clearly sees the Headless Horseman.

12:00pm: We cut to an Asian cop in his patrol car--OMG, is than Jin from LOST?!  Alas, no, because Daniel Dae-Kim is currently on the Hawaii-50 reboot, and when he gets out of his car, it's obvious it's not him, because OMG is that Sulu from the Star Trek reboot?  I need to look up the cast.  Hitting pause.  Just a sec...

YES IT IS!!! AWESOME! Sulu arrests Ichabod Crane.  It is now my head canon that Sulu got stranded in the past somehow on an away mission, and got a job as a cop while he waits for Kirk and company to figure out a way to rescue him.

Hitting play again.

12:01pm: Attractive man is in jail, and Ivy tells Sulu that attractive man didn't kill Gandalf.  She describes what the Headless Horseman was wearing and attractive man finally speaks!  And guess what--he has a British accent, which of course, just makes him even more attractive.  He tells the cops that the last time he saw her suspect was when he cut off his head.  Cue DRAMATIC MUSIC! 

And we have our first commercial break...I should note, I'm frequently pausing the show to record my thoughts--so the time frame is a bit off.

12:03pm: We come back in to attractive man hooked up to a polygraph machine.  He tells his story--he was a history professor at Oxford.  He was sent to fight for the British army in the war, but defected to the revolutionist's side.  He was married to a civilian nurse named Katrina (which is the name of the daughter in the story.  So obviously, things worked better for him in this version, than in the literary source--well...up until he died and is now separated from his wife by 250 years.) and then boom, he loses consciousness and wakes up in modern day.  He is confused, and angry and he wants SOME ANSWERS DAMNIT!! The cops think he's nuts, or trying to set up a plea for insanity.  I'm wondering how they can even suspect him of murdering Gandalf?  Where is their evidence?  They picked him up in the middle of the "village," and Gandalf was murdered on a farmhouse.  There is literally zero evidence that connects him to the crime. sigh.  I hope it's not going to be one of those kind of cop shows.

12:05pm: Ichabod is being escorted to a mental institution by the black cop, whose name is actually Abbie, sorry.  There is much humor being made out of Ichabod rolling up and down his window in the car.  I admit, sometimes when I'm bored on car rides I do the same thing. (No, not really.  Well okay, maybe once or twice.)  They drive past a church and see the creepy preacher.  Ichabod recognizes him! Gasp! How can this be?! Turns out the preacher is also from the past.  Though I'm not sure how--my spidey senses were right though, because they share a look. That preacher is trouble, with a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for Pool! (what, no Music Man fans here?)

12:10pm: So, Abbie takes Ichabod back to the spot where he rose from his grave, and he tells her that the Headless Horseman is actually one of the Horseman of the wait for it... Apocalypse.  Yes!  I like where this show is going.  Apocalypses make everything that much more exciting.  Watch Supernatural if you don't believe me.

12:11pm: The horseman tracks down the preacher, who has MAGIC!! But the horseman kills him anyway.  I admit I didn't see that coming.  What is the point of having magic if you can't defend yourself from headless horsemen?  Obviously, preacher man failed his Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

More commercials...luckily I get to fast forward through them!  Mwahahaha...take that advertising!

12:13pm: The cops are investigating preacher man's death.  Ichabod is told to wait in the car, but of course, we all know he's not going to.  A bird (Hawk? I think) lands on the hood of the car and flies away.  Ichabod follows it, because um...I'm not sure.  Abbie gets chewed out by her boss for not taking Crane directly to a padded cell.  We cut to some cool shots of an old graveyard lit with a smokey red back-light from what I assume are the fires of hell.

12:15pm: Crane finds his wife's grave.  It turns out...SHE WAS A WITCH!!  10 bucks says she's still alive.  20 bucks says at some point on this show there's going to be a love triangle between Ichabod, Abbie, and Katrina. And 50 bucks says that Katrina winds up being evil--I don't know why, I'm just getting that vibe from her.

12:16pm: Crane gets a private cell in the mental ward.  Aww, how considerate.  Abbie tells a somewhat freaky story about her childhood.  Note to self: eat more chocolate.  Aww, Abbie and Ichabod are bonding.

12:17pm: Abbie goes over to Gandalf's office.  She finds a key.  God, I hope it opens the gates to hell. (Or could it be a TARDIS key?!)  That's the only thing this show is missing.

12:17pm: Nope, it opens a secret file cabinet.  Yeah, it was as exciting as it sounds.

12:17pm: Hmm...looks like Gandalf was investigating witches and the occult.  He believed the stuff about the Apocalypse and demons. Well, it doesn't surprise me that he did--I mean, he was a powerful wizard himself.

12:18pm: Abbie's boss catches her in Gandalf's office.  He tells her to leave.  She does, while sneaking out some of Gandalf's notes with her.  Her boss looks suspiciously at the office.  Now I can't tell if he's a bad guy or not.

MORE COMMERCIALS!

12:20pm: We're back with Ichabod in the mental institution.  I'm pretty sure he's dreaming.  He speaks to his wife in a mirror--and winds up in a forest with her--the same forest where Abbie's freaky childhood story took place.  Turns out his wife is a good witch (Yeah, we'll see about that...I still don't trust her.) and she tells Ichabod that if the headless horseman finds his skull the Apocalypse will start. Okaaay?  The skull is in her grave and she's actually trapped somewhere else.  KNEW IT!  I wonder, did the writers even read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow?  Also, is it possible they were on some drugs when writing this pilot?  Don't get me wrong, so far it's been very entertaining.

12:21pm: A demon grabs Ichabod in his dream--which is quickly turning into a nightmare, and he wakes up.  There's a female doctor in the room with some orderlies holding him down.  The doc is clearly thinking, Damn, this guy is SUPER nuts. I'm just going to drug him up to his eyeballs so I can get back to my office and shop for straight jackets on Amazon. Fun fact: you can actually buy a straight jacket on Amazon.  I looked it up. :)

12:22pm: Abbie rescues Ichabod, YOU GO GIRL!! We cut to a random scene of the headless horseman enjoying some night swimming.  I'm sorry, so far I don't find him very scary.  Then we cut back to Abbie.  She calls Sulu and asks him to send some backup for her at the church.  Sulu whines about how he doesn't want to do that.  MAN UP SULU!  You're in Starfleet for Pete's sake!  He agrees to send back up, and then notices that the door to his apartment is open.  Uh-oh.

12:22pm: Yup, the headless horseman is in Sulu's apartment.  Yup, Sulu is working for him.  And yup, the headless horseman has upgraded his ax, for what looks like an Ak-47.  Words can't describe just how much more awesome this show became.

Commercial break...lalalalalalalalalalala

12:23pm: Abbie and Ichabod find the headless horseman's skull in Katrina's grave.  Just in time for the horseman to show up and start shooting at them.  It's not an Ak-47, it's a shotgun, and it's still awesome.  I'm so proud of this show's writers for saying: "You know what would be cool?  If we gave the horseman a shotgun." and then following through on that idea.  Writers, I applaud you.

12:23pm: My bad, the horseman has both a shotgun and an Ak-47.  Where has this show been all my life?  I'm eating another Reese's peanut butter cup to celebrate.

12:25pm: Sulu arrives on the scene.  He smacks Abbie over her head and tries to kidnap her.  She wakes up and bites his thumb.  It's gruesome.  Ewwwwwww....I thought she bit it off, but it's still there in the next shot.  That's good.  How will Sulu fly the Enterprise without his thumb?

12:26pm: Ichabod and the horseman are duking it out meanwhile.  Crane runs away and hides behind a car.  More cops show up and see the headless horseman.  We are treated to this:

This is what television was invented for.

12:27pm: The sun is rising so the horseman rides off, holding his Ak-47 triumphantly in the air.  Abbie and Ichabod reunite and share a moment of sexual tension.  They're so hooking up at some point.

12:27pm: We cut to the police station where the chief is telling us he now believes Ichabod, since the cops who saw the headless horseman can back up the story.  We get a Captain America reference which makes me happy. Note to self: idea for movie: Captain America fights the headless horseman who is wielding a sub-machine gun, while riding a T-Rex, IN SPACE!  (don't tell me you wouldn't watch that, because we both know, it would be a lie.)

12:28pm: It looks like Abbie and Ichabod are the two witnesses who have been called upon to stop the Apocalypse.  Is this all really in the Book of Revelations as they are claiming?  Somehow, I doubt it.  But, I don't care because this show has a horseman who wields an Ak-47.

12:29pm: In for me, what is the scariest moment of the show, Sulu is killed by a demon. (Man, Captain Kirk is going to be upset about that.) Abbie and Ichabod run into the cell just as he dies, and see the demon walking away in the mirror.  Soooooo creepy!  Seriously, this demon means business.  I eat a Hershey kiss to comfort myself. Mmm...chocolate.

12:30pm: And the title of the show FINALLY comes up, as Guns & Roses plays again.  We have reached the end of the pilot! Wow. Am eating a Rolo to celebrate.  (really, there's no excuse too small that can justify eating a piece of chocolate.

Well, my overall thoughts of the pilot, is that it was definitely entertaining.  I liked the spooky atmosphere, Ichabod is played by a decent actor, as is Abbie.  The story line they have set up is intriguing, if ridiculous, but at least they are owning that ridiculousness and milking it for all it's worth.  Special effects are pretty dang good, except for the horseman's horse.  The red eyes just seemed a bit cheesy to me.  All in all though, I will probably set up a series recording for this.  Perhaps, I will live blog each episode as I watch it.

Fun Fact of the Day: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was first published in 1820 by Washington Irving.  How's that for a name?

TTFN! Ta Ta For Now!

Top 10 Movie Scores Part 2

Before I begin this post, I need to make a correction from the first half of my list.  I mistakenly credited Steve Jablonsky as the composer for the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie--he is not, and the mistake has been corrected.

Welcome back to The Casual Geek--I hope you're all chilling on the sofa, playing Star Trek on your tv, and enjoying a beverage of your choice, (mine today is orange, peach, mango juice.  Mmmm).

Last post I talked about music, and listed the first 5 of my personal favorite Top 10 geeky movie scores. Well today I finish counting down to the...*drumroll* NUMBER ONE FAVORITE SCORE!!! (So exciting!  You know it is, because I used capital letters! Yeah, I'm not scared to bust out the caps! Or the exclamation points!!)

So let's get to it!  Remember, these are just my personal favorite scores from geeky movies--there are many, many movies with FANTASTIC scores that you won't see on the list, like Finding Neverland, because they don't qualify as a sci-fi/fantasy/geeky movie.  And again, I'd love to hear from you about your favorites in the comments. :)

Here it is, the Top 5 Personal Favorite Geeky Movies Scores, starting with...

#5: Sherlock Holmes
Composer: Hans Zimmer

Now, many Sherlock Holmes fans didn't like the Robert Downey Jr. version of the character, but I actually enjoyed the movie a lot.  Part of that was of course due to RDJ, another part was due that I liked seeing an alternate interpretation of the character that departed from more traditional portrayals, and another large part was due to the genius of Hans Zimmer's score.

This score is so quirky and fun--much like the movie itself.  It keeps you guessing, startles you, makes you smile, but can also be dramatic and full of tension.  Zimmer uses an unusual array of instruments, including a banjo, an accordion, and a trombone. Instead of smooth, flowing violins, instead Zimmer gives us quick, crackling music, that sounds organic and full of life, especially when paired up with some lighthearted percussion.  In my version of the soundtrack I include Luke Kelly's version of "The Rocky Road to Dublin" which is played during the boxing scene.   It fits in perfectly with the rest of the score.  I wish they had released it officially on the soundtrack.  If you had not had the pleasure of listening to this soundtrack I definitely recommend it.  Favorite tracks include "Discombobulate," "I Never Woke Up In Handcuffs Before," "Ah, Putrefaction," and "Not in Blood, But in Bond."

#4: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Composer: Klaus Badelt

This score and the next one I had a hard time deciding what order to put them in, because they are both so excellent, but ultimately I decided that POTC needed to come in at this spot.  This score is just fantastic--so memorable and fun.   This was another soundtrack that I went home after seeing the movie and bought right away.  It's thrilling, heroic, quirky, sometimes dark and a bit spooky, and romantic, and that's all already apparent in just the first two tracks. I read a review of this soundtrack that tore it apart, and called it awful, but to me, it's fun, upbeat, and definitely entertaining.  With 15 tracks, coming in on average around 2-3 minutes each, it's easy to listen to, and its lightheartedness is enough to brighten anyone's mood.

Favorite tracks include: "He's a Pirate," "Fog Bound," "Moonlight Serenade," and "Underwater March."

#3: Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
Composer: Harry Gregson-Williams

I LOVE this score.  The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe is the film I'm most familiar with, but all three movies have an excellent soundtrack.  Gregson-Williams has composed such a soaring, gorgeous, noble, beautiful score for this movie--he really is able to capture strong emotion in his music.  The soundtrack opens on a dark note, with "The Blitz, 1940," but it quickly segues into gorgeous strings and a lovely solo voice in "Evacuating London." From there it continues to capture the wonder and magic of a place like Narnia, growing and growing until by the end of the movie we are treated to simply amazing tracks like "The Battle." Even if you don't listen to the rest of the score, you should listen to "The Battle."  It's one of my favorite pieces of music period.  Even though it's just over 7 minutes long, every second of it is full to the brim with emotion.

The use of horns, strings, with the choir, and the steady beat of the percussion--this is really one of the standout tracks on this score.  For me, the best part of the track starts at 4:11.  The strings there never fail to make my heart ache.  Just listen to it already, okay? :)

Favorite tracks besides "The Battle," include: "To Aslan's Camp," "Only the Beginning of the Adventure," "The Wardrobe" and "Can't Take It In."

#2: Star Wars
Composer: John Williams

This is easily John Williams's most famous score, and is in fact perhaps one of the most famous movie scores ever.  The American Film Institute ranks it number 1 in the "Greatest Film Scores of All Time."  What can I say about Star Wars that hasn't already been said?  There's a reason why it's so beloved, and that's because it is just undeniably awesome.  Williams gets you right with the bombastic horns of the Main Theme and "The Imperial March" is perhaps the most widely recognized villain theme in all movies.  I dare you to find someone over the age of 7 who isn't familiar with this music.

This music is iconic. And as much crap as the prequels get, I think their music is pretty damn good too.  "Across the Stars" is a great love theme, and I have a ringtone for "Duel of the Fates."  I get chills when "The Imperial March" plays in Attack of the Clones, as generally awful as that movie was.

Do I even need to list favorite tracks?  "Main Theme," "Imperial March," "Luke and Leia," "The Cantina Band," "Duel of the Fates."

And Finally...*drumroll*... #1...Lord of the Rings
Composer: Howard Shore

I don't even know where to start with these--I listen to these soundtracks over and over.  My friends all know that I am a HUGE Lord of the Rings fan, to the point that I saw Fellowship of the Ring 13 times in the theater (of course, I worked at the movie theater in high school so got to see most of those showings for free. Yay me!).

These scores are pretty much the definition of epic.  Howard Shore took a year of his life and composed such complex and amazing music that he won two Oscars.   The scores are brilliant, awesome, gorgeous, and run the complete emotional spectrum from innocence and joy, to wonder and majesty, to dark and frightening, to high epic adventure.  On top of that, Shore composed different sounds for the different cultures of Middle Earth--for example, Rohan is represented by a stunning violin theme.

There is so much rich music here to enjoy and explore.  There are the tracks that highlight main themes, but I find that as I re-listen, I appreciate other tracks just as much.  For example, "Shelob's Lair" is truly frightening, and I love the part starting in at around 1:02 where the strings just hover anxiously, and then especially at 1:27 where they just start screaming in earnest.  The emotion in that music, the fear is so palpable.

Again with "Samwise the Brave"--it is just beautiful, and heartwrenching when you think of everything these two characters have endured, that they still have hope in the face of darkness.  This music is so uplifting--and a smaller track, but still wonderful nonetheless.

Then we come to the big epic themes that actively made the movies that much more awesome.  The best musical moment for me in Fellowship of the Ring was when they are fleeing from the Balrog in the Mines of Moria.  As they run, the music builds tension with a chanting male choir, and as they overcome a great chasm in the movie the music resolves with them-releasing the tension with the heroic theme sounding triumphantly. This was the moment when everyone in the audience cheered.  And then Shore effortlessly switches from triumphant to absolutely heartbreaking, with (Spoilers!) the 'death' of Gandalf.  The soloists on this soundtrack are just amazingly talented.

And then there is the magnificent Gondor Theme--which Howard Shore foreshadows early on during the Council of Elrond in Fellowship.  In Return of the King it well, returns (Bad pun!  Baaaad pun.  Couldn't help myself.) in a major way, fleshed out in one of the highlights of the third movie.

All this is only scratching the surface of what these soundtracks have to offer.  I haven't even mentioned the vocalists--the credit songs are just as gorgeous as the rest of the score.  I guarantee that if you're a fan of film scores, Lord of the Rings is hours of absolutely the best that cinema has to offer.

Favorite tracks, all the ones highlighted above, plus all the credit songs, and: "Concerning Hobbits," "The Breaking of the Fellowship," "The Ring Goes South," "The Great River," "The Steward of Gondor" (Featuring Billy Boyd), "Hope and Memory," "Forth Eorlingas," "Isengard Unleashed," and "The End of All Things."  Seriously, check out this soundtrack if you haven't before.

So there you have it!  My top 10 personal favorites movie scores from geeky movies.  I have two honorable mentions, one is a score that I listen to a lot, and one is a score I actually discovered while compiling this list. :)

Honorable Mention #1: Serenity
Composer: David Newman

This is a great score.  I like the contrast of Western styles of music with unexpected instruments.  It features a lovely cello and is definitely worth a listen.  Favorite tracks include: "Jane & Zoe/Final Battle," "Love," "Serenity," and "End Credits."

Honorable Mention #2: Treasure Planet
Composer: James Newton Howard

As I was compiling my list, I was, of course, listening to many different soundtracks, and stumbled across Treasure Planet in my iTunes library.  I randomly clicked on it, and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was, so I want to give it a shoutout here.  James Newton Howard is really very talented, and this score is adventures and fun.  Favorite tracks include: "12 Years Later," "To The Spaceport," and "Silver."

As always, I end with a fun fact: Howard Shore used the music of Richard Wagner as his primary influence for Lord of the Rings musical scores. Very cool.

TTFN! Ta Ta For now!

Top 10 Movie Scores Part 1

Picture this: you are sitting in a movie theater, watching as the main couple in the movie are leaning in to finally kiss.  As their lips meet, gorgeous violin strings swell in the background.  Or perhaps it is an action scene and people are fighting while thunderous drums sound.  Or you could even be watching a scary movie, leaning forward in your seat as the music builds tension through long minor notes that keep building and building and building and building and building until SOMETHING JUMPS OUT AT YOU ON THE SCREEN!!! You shriek, knock over your friend's popcorn, and then try to hide your face as most of the theater laughs at you.  (Nope, that NEVER happened to me. Definitely not.)

The point is, music is often a key component in those kind of scenes.  Music has such a powerful ability to evoke emotion in us, and movies often take advantage of that, to heighten emotion in certain scenes.  I recently went on a trip to Boston, and saw Matchbox 20 in concert with a friend.  We had a ridiculous fun time, (turns out she is a super fangirl of Rob Thomas.  I never knew.  You think you know a person, and then, bam! They surprise you by knowing every lyric to every Matchbox 20 song ever.) and we played songs all the way to the concert and all the way back, rocking out to some great and not so great music. This is pretty much the norm for me whenever I drive somewhere.  The first I thing I do when I get in a car, is get some songs playing (after I buckle my seat-belt of course. SAFETY FIRST!).

I am also the kind of girl who will listen to musical numbers and soundtrack scores as I drive around town. There may have been a day when I was driving back to work at the end of my lunch break, where I was singing along to Phantom of the Opera--which I was definitely blasting so as to drown out the sound of my terrible off-key singing--and I may have been stopped at a red light, and there may have been a guy in a car next to me shooting me weird looks.  I can't remember, I was too busy having fun singing, "The Phaaaaaaaantooom of the Operaaaaaa is thereeeee," and rocking out to awesome organ music.

Anywho, the Matchbox 20 concert was another event this summer that has recently just made me think about how important music is in my life.   I can't imagine life being as fun as it is without good songs or music to rock out to.  So, to share my love of music, I thought that for my next two blog posts I will countdown 10 of my favorite geeky movie soundtracks.   I feel like music sometimes doesn't get enough recognition in Hollywood--with most of the focus being on actors and directors.  I have always been a soundtrack fan, and what composers are able to create in a couple of months can be mind blowing.  Seriously, they are amazingly talented.  So I would like to give some amazing soundtracks and composers a shoutout with these posts.  Of course, there are many, many awesome soundtracks out there--I am only blogging about my top 10 personal favorites.  And of those, only ones that fall under a geeky movie.  For example, Master and Commander is one of my all time favorite soundtracks, but you won't find it on the list because it is not really a sci-fi/fantasy/geeky movie.  

So without further ado, let us begin our first Top 10 List of my blog.  And if you would like to let me know some of your favorites I would love to hear about them in a comment.

#10: Signs/The Village

Composer: James Newton Howard

I couldn't choose between these two, and since they are both composed by the same person, I have decided that means I get to count them as one.  Ha!  

Say what you will about the quality of M. Night Shyamalan's movies recently, but to me, the the quality of these soundtracks is undeniable.  In fact, The Village was nominated for an Oscar.  Both of these scores are so chock full of emotion and both are definitely worth a listen. 

Signs is full of dark, scary, tension building tracks, helped along with high piano notes.  For the most part it is not big and bombastic, but more quiet and subtle, with quick jumps of crescendos for a startling effect.  It is very effective at conveying the fear and uncertainty the characters are experiencing in the movie--and in the end of the movie when the situation is resolved, so is the soundtrack, as strings create a beautiful uplifting melody.  My favorite tracks include "Main Titles," "Roof Intruder," "Brazilian Video," and "Hands of Fate--Part 2."

The Village is what I would call hauntingly beautiful.  Here, Howard very heavily features gorgeous strings, especially a solo violin. The violin is just so, so beautiful and it captures both the romance and the worry between the main couple in the movie.  This soundtrack is more calm and serene than Signs, but oftentimes it can be just as frightening.  There is a quiet tension that runs through many of the tracks, and the strings build a mysterious atmosphere.  It is gorgeous.  Favorite tracks include "The Gravel Road," "What Are You Asking Me?" and "Those We Don't Speak Of."

#9: Inception

Composer: Hans Zimmer

Hans Zimmer is one of my all-time favorite composers.  Inception is a fantastic soundtrack that is single-handedly responsible for the rise of booming base sounds in movie trailers--you know, the "BWAAAM, BWAAM" that seems to be in just about every dramatic trailer these days. :)  What I love about Inception's soundtrack is, it's interconnected with itself.  For example--the big booming base sounds are actually from the main song from the movie 'Non, Je Ne Regrette Rein' just greatly slowed down.  Check it out: 

Inception is great at starting off slow and quiet and then gradually building and building until the music is booming from your speakers.  Zimmer also puts an electric guitar to wonderful use, using it to create tension and atmosphere.  Just as quickly as he builds the music, Zimmer will then drop it back down, this is especially noticeable in "Time" when he ends with just a few notes on a piano.  Also worth mentioning is the song they used for the trailer--many people had assumed it was part of the soundtrack, but it is not.  It's a separate piece of music composed by Zack Hemsey called "Mind Heist."   I have incorporated it into my soundtrack because for me, it fits in nicely with Zimmer's score and I associate it with the movie.  It's awesome. 

Inception is one of my favorite movies and its soundtrack is a definite contributor to that.  Some of my favorite tracks include, "Time," "Dream is Collapsing," and "Radical Notion."

#8: Jurassic Park

Composer: John Williams

John Williams is perhaps the most famous film composer of our time--and Jurassic Park is a definite contributor to his fame.  Now to be honest I haven't listened to the complete soundtrack, but I've listened to most of it, and what I have listened to, I absolutely LOVE.  Piano and strings get me every time, and this soundtrack is just so soaring and beautiful.  If you're not familiar with this soundtrack, you need to crawl out of the cave you're living in, go watch the movie and then buy this soundtrack.  It is definitely John Williams' signature style, and also features beautiful horns which he knows how to use to great effect.  Favorite tracks include: "Welcome to Jurassic Park," "Journey to the Island," "Theme from Jurassic Park," "T-Rex Rescue & Finale," and "End Credits."

#7: Transformers

Composer: Steve Jablonsky

Ah, Transformers, love it or hate it, the soundtrack rocks.  That's because Steve Jablonsky is insanely talented.  I enjoyed the first Transformers movie (I'm not ashamed to admit it.  Cars transforming into giant robots and then battling each other is cool, what else can I say?) and right after I saw it, I ran home and downloaded the soundtrack from iTunes.  It's got everything-intense percussion, soaring, noble strings, and a gorgeous choir.  It's exciting, dramatic, and it totally makes you feel like going out on a heroic adventure (or is that just me?).  It's awesome, awesome, awesome, with a side of dramatic intensity.  Favorite tracks include "Scorponok," (4 minutes of fantastic percussion basically. Whoo-hoo!) "Arrival to Earth," "The All Spark" and "No Sacrifice, No Victory."

#6: Harry Potter (Goblet of Fire)

Composer: Patrick Doyle

I know, I know!  How can Harry Potter only come in at number six?! GASP!  But while I love Harry Potter and the music IS amazing, I found as I was putting together my list that there were five soundtracks I listened to more than Harry Potter.  I know, there must be something wrong with me, but it's the truth. 

I chose Goblet of Fire because it is the one I listen to the most, and hence is the one I am most familiar with. My favorite track from this soundtrack is "Voldemort" and I want to take a second to highlight it.  It clocks in at almost ten minutes and is some of the most scary, intense, emotional music I think from all 8 of the films.  When Lily's ghost comes out of Voldemort's wand and speaks to Harry, the music is so tragic and loving it gives me goosebumps, and makes my eyes well, just thinking about it.  It is powerful music.  Give it a listen if you have time.

Goblet of Fire is really when Harry Potter first takes its more darker turn, and the music reflects that.  From the very beginning the opening theme is darker and more frightening.  No longer is it the magical, whimsical theme from John Williams--now it is brooding, and almost angry.  The soundtrack does have moments of levity though, which helps it not become depressing (always a plus).  Doyle does a lovely job on expanding on the main theme, and he uses strings to great emotional effect.

Favorite tracks include, "The Story Continues," "Voldemort," "The Quidditch World Cup," "Harry in Winter" and (spoilers) "Death of Cedric."

  

So there you have it!  The first half of my list.  Next post will cover my top 5 favorites as well as an honorable mention. I hope you enjoy these selections as much as I do--and if you have a favorite I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

Fun Fact of the Day: The Bodyguard is currently the highest bestselling movie soundtrack with over 16 million albums sold.

TTFN! Ta Ta For Now!

The New Doctor

For my second post, I thought it would be fitting to write about one of my all-time favorite shows, seeing as how I'm probably going to mention it a lot on this blog.  I am, of course, talking about Doctor Who.  I discovered this show last April, and it has quickly consumed all of my geeky interests.  In fact, I like it even more than Star Trek. (Blasphemy, I know.  But it's true.)

For those of you who have never heard of this show, let me tell you a little bit about it.  Doctor Who follows the adventures of an alien known as a Time Lord.  He's called the Doctor, and he travels through all of time and space (Awesome!) in his spaceship.  His spaceship is alive and is called the TARDIS--it looks like a 1960's British police phone box.

Yes, this is a spaceship.  It's bigger on the inside.

The Doctor travels with a variety of companions, and they save the world.  A lot.  (Again, awesome!) Because of the Doctor's alien nature, when the original actor who played him became too old, the creators of the show decided that Time Lords have an ability to regenerate their bodies when they're dying.  This allows them to hire new actors to play the Doctor, when the current actor decides to leave the show

       These two people are actually the same person.  You can tell by his intense gaze.

So far there have been 11 Doctors, and fans will usually refer to them by their number.  For example, my favorite doctor is 10--played by David Tennant. He is the handsome face on the right in the picture above.  Fans will hotly debate on who is the best Doctor--for many 4 is the favorite, played by Tom Baker.  He holds the record for the longest run on the show, and also has the record for the longest scarf.  Watch it, and you'll understand.

What makes Doctor Who so fantastic, is that the show is so flexible.  When you have all of time and space at your fingertips, the story possibilities are endless.  The Doctor can travel back in time and meet Shakespeare--or he can go forward and witness the end of the Earth.

Most awkward first date ever.

In order to love Doctor Who there are a couple of things about it that you must accept.  One: the special effects can be REALLY cheesy sometimes.  No, I'm serious.  Think like the Original Series of Star Trek cheesy.  Sometimes the effects are awesome--other times, not so much.  That's okay, because the characters and story lines make up for it.

Two: there are some bad episodes.  It's a TV show, no one is perfect, and like any TV show there are some pretty awful episodes.  I think one of the worst episodes is  "Love and Monsters."  But even in bad episodes, there's usually something you like.  For example, there are some really funny scenes in "Love and Monsters."

And Three: Doctor Who is British.  It has a British sense of humor, characters speak with British accents, and any action on Earth usually takes place in Great Britain (though, they have visited America a couple of times). If you're like me--a British soul trapped in an American body--then this won't be a problem.  (Cup of tea?  Thank you.)

Just recently the BBC has announced that Peter Capaldi will play the next Doctor, since Matt Smith is leaving the show.  I'm super excited by this news.  Apparently Peter is well-known in England, but I've actually never heard of him before.  Fans were throwing around crazy theories about who would be the next Doctor--including people like Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) or Benedict Cummerbatch (Sherlock/Kahn). Both are never going to happen, and in Rupert's case, that's probably a good thing.

So after 9, 10, and 11 all being younger Doctors, we're finally going back to what is usually the norm for the show and having an older Doctor again.  This disappointed a lot of young girls apparently, who were only watching the show so they could squee over the 'young, sexy Doctors'--but that is NOT what makes Doctor Who awesome.  Give Peter a chance before you write him off.

He's already got the intense gaze nailed.

Frankly, I can't wait to see what he does with the role.  What I love about Doctor Who is that it is constantly changing.  While sometimes it's hard to let go of favorite characters or sets, ultimately all the change keeps the show interesting and fresh.  Doctor Who can be hilarious, terrifying, heartbreaking, and just plain cool--sometimes all at the same time.  So if you haven't had the pleasure of watching this show before, I highly recommend it if you're a fan of sci-fi.  You can do what I did, and start at the beginning of the new series, with 9, or you can watch an individual episode to see if you like it.  If you go with the individual episode, I'd recommend either "Blink," "The Girl in the Fireplace," "The Empty Child," "Father's Day," or "Vincent and the Doctor."  Those are all from the new series, I haven't been able to watch any of the Classic Who yet, but I will. And then I will probably blog about it. :)

Fun Fact of the Day: Matt Smith actually owns the tweed jacket his eleventh Doctor usually wears.  Also, bow ties are cool.

TTFN! Ta Ta For Now!